A broadband gateway or a broadband router is commonly known as a device that connects a local area network (LAN) to a broadband Internet connection, such as a T1 line, a digital subscriber loop (DSL) or a cable modem. A gateway provides connectivity and routing between the Internet and multiple client computers. Some gateways can also act as a standalone access point that connects into an Ethernet network. Such gateway devices enable wired and wireless devices to share a broadband connection and be networked together. The gateway routes traffic from the Internet to the appropriate wired or wireless clients on the local area network.
There are currently a large variety of networking technologies for residential and small business applications. For example, 802.11a, 802.11b, and 802.11g specifications have thus far been defined for wireless LAN. There are also home radio frequency (HomeRF), Bluetooth, Homecast Open Protocol (HOP), and Digital Enhanced Cordless Telecommunications (DECT) technologies being deployed. Furthermore, there is an ever increasingly diverse number of options for data security, virus detection, content filtering, and other functions that users may desire. It may be seen that a gateway device may become quickly out of date as soon as it is deployed.